Problem: Vanessa's Furniture Store buys a book shelf at a wholesale price of $138.00. If the markup rate at Vanessa's Furniture Store is 50%, what is the total markup for the book shelf in dollars?
Solution: Remember that a markup rate is a percentage of the wholesale price that a store adds to get a selling or retail price. The amount of markup can be found with the following equation: markup rate $\times$ wholesale price $=$ amount of markup Since the markup rate is a percentage, we have to convert it into a decimal first. Percent means "out of one hundred," so $50\%$ is equivalent to $\frac{50}{100}$ which is also equal to $50 \div 100$ $50 \div 100 = 0.50$ Now you have all the information you need to use the formula above! $0.50$ $\times$ $$138.00$ $=$ $$69.00$ The amount of markup on the book shelf is $$69.00$.